AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did not know what that signified. All I cared about was the part that Capricorn was alive and we could still save her.
“The Coventry team are armed. They will draw his fire. I will tap that spell to push the portal open. You and Rothgar need to drop him through the portal instead.”
“Consider it done,” Rothgar promised.
Jalen communicated the strategy to the others, and we readied to go. The team drew the creature’s attention at the same time Jalen focused his magic toward the anchoring spell that Capricorn left behind.
Though miniscule, it was enough of a crack to wedge the portal open once more. Rothgar and I pushed him back. It was just enough force for the darkness to snake around Snowden’s body and swallow him down.
I crept slowly to the edge of what looked like a Hellmouth. Rothgar and Jalen linked to hold on to me in case I got captured by the darkness as well.
I couldn’t see Capricorn, but dammit, I could feel her. She needed me. She yelled for me.
A shining spot on the edge of the portal caught my eye. Her anchor. Of course. It was an elegant spell, one I had not seen before. I covered the spot with my hand and instantly felt something like a rope grow taut beneath my hand.
I pulled on it, careful not to pull too hard, or risk breaking the tether. All the while, I imagined Capricorn, reaching for her in the place between my hearts. The place where I felt her pulling, calling for me.
The Rothgar and Jalen received help from the rest of the Coventry unit in anchoring us so we did not all plummet into the darkness.
I worried it was taking too long, that somehow this magical rope would not have been enough when I saw a wash of teal hair followed by Capricorn’s tear-stained face.
I scooped her up from the black, earning a protest from the rest of the team that had anchored me. I could barely care. Capricorn was where she belonged, in my arms.
I moved her away from the abyss, crushing her to me.
“I knew you’d find me, I knew you’d find me.”
Capricorn’s tears wrecked me. I allowed Jalen and Rothgar to hold her as well. It was a tangle of limbs that the local emergency services crew needed to dance around. Since Capricorn refused to let go of them, then they would not let go of her.
The Director of Coventry himself, Grey Linden, a dour-faced gargoyle, arrived on scene. “What the hell happened here, Tharraka?”
“We do not know. I was here to find my mate. But I think you are close to the answer.”
At his confusion, I said, “Hell, sir. I think hell tried to happen here.”
A mask of cold neutrality settled over his face. “We will debrief about this in private,” he said. “My office. One hour.”
“No,” I countered. “I have just seen my newly bonded mate nearly destroyed as a sacrifice to darkness. I will stay by her side.”
“You don’t have to.” Capricorn’s voice was husky from her ordeal, and it broke my heart knowing how long she must have screamed. “You’ll be fine to go. I’ll be fine. I’ll just be going to the hospital, anyway. Maybe even be asleep, who knows? ”
“Then I will be at the hospital,” I said.
“Really, if you’re needed—”
I closed the distance between us in a step. Gripping her chin, I tilted her face up so I could look into her eyes. “I will be by your side, Capricorn.”
I willed her to agree. I needed her to tell me to stay with her.
“Okay,” she said. I felt the relief that poured from her.
We would need to discuss a few things in the future, but today was not that day.
I pressed a kiss against her forehead. “We should get going.” I wanted to carry Capricorn in my arms, but Rothgar looked like he’d have a meltdown if I flexed my claim.
“Wait,” Capricorn said. “There’s just one thing.” She stepped away from Rothgar’s hold and walked toward where the portal was. The glyphs were burnt through, so there wouldn’t be any magic left in them. Still, Coventry’s containment team would ensure everything was fine.
Capricorn knelt at the place where her anchor had been, the literal lifeline that kept her safe until we could fish her out of that hole. Rothgar kept his hands on her, hovering over her like a worried hen.
